Drifted Sparks Series--Part 7. Shadowed Future
by Silver Spider
Summary: Getting over the deaths of their friends, the Maximals are faced with new threat when a young girl warns them about a terrible future. They must protect the present of earth in order to save it’s future. Other questions arise. The girl carries a secret


**Summery: Getting over the deaths of their friends, the Maximals are faced with new threat when a young girl warns them about a terrible future. They must protect the present of earth in order to save it's future. Other questions arise. The girl carries a secret far beyond anything they could ever imagine.**

**Authors Note: I used a piece of the same song I used in part 6. Again, it doesn't belong to me and I'm not making any money from it, so please don't sue me. Parts 7, 8, and 9 are going to be sort of like a trilogy, so enjoy.******

**Drifted Sparks Series**

**Part 7. Shadowed Future**

**By: Kayla Anasazi (a.k.a. Silver Spider)**

**Prologue**

Year 2022,

     The city was completely destroyed. There were a few buildings still holding up, but they were decaying as well. The sky was darkened by different kinds of dark clouds. It looked as if it was burned, with thunder echoing through the clouds.

     Isabelle looked up from her hiding place at the sky. She used to love the sky. It used to be a soft blue color with fluffy white clouds. She remembered a time, a time  long ago, before the virus, before the war, when she used to sore through that sky. Now she was lucky if she even found the courage to get up off the ground.

     The horsemen were after her. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Pestilence, Famine, and Death. Apocalypse was not only an event now, he was a living being. A transformer, eternal in every meaning of the word. A monster, who twisted space and time to his every desire. A being, who traveled from planet to planet, time to time, destroying everything in his way. Now he threatened Earth.

     Isabelle was one of the few survivors he was after. In truth, she didn't know if there was anyone left. All the people she knew and love were gone. As far as she knew, she was alone. She took out the silver locket she wore around her neck and looked at it. This was the last thing she had of her family…of her past.

**Chapter 1**

Present,

     "I can't believe they're gone," Ariana buried her face in Justin's chest.

     "I know," he hugged her, "we were a great team, but we must continue to fight. We can't let their loses go in vain. They would want us to keep fighting. Besides, we destroyed the virus and Nightscream has the antidote so no more will perish."

     "I hope so," Ariana said, "but I still get the feeling we missed something. Something that will change the future…for the worst."

     "Don't worry," Justin smiled, "I think we can look forward to a bright future."

_"And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven   
__Like so many friends we've lost along the way   
__And I know eventually we'll be together   
__One sweet day,"_

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Year 2022,

     Suddenly there was a loud blast in the sky. Isabelle looked up and her face bore a look of horror. It was the four horsemen. Three were on metallic horses and their leader, Death was hovering in the air on two large, metallic wings.

     "Stop, human," he said in a cold, emotionless voice. Isabelle broke into a run. The four horsemen followed over head.

     "Computer," she yelled at her wrist camp, "situation?!"

     "Critical," the computer voice answered, "your options are limited."

     "What are they?" Isabelle demanded. The horsemen were shooting at her now.

     "Time travel is the only safe option you have," the computer responded.

     "Time travel?!" she slammed into the back of a wall of one of the buildings, trying to avoid the shots, "why haven't I heard about this before?"

     "It was your final option," the computer replied, "you could only access it in your most critical situation."

     "This is pretty critical," Isabelle said pointedly, "which way do we go?"

     "Back in time, to an extent of 22 years."

     "Get me back there," Isabelle yelled over the fire of the horsemen, "Now!"

     "Acknowledged," seconds later, a bright flash appeared in the air. A powerful wind knocked down entire buildings and blew Isabelle of her feet.

     "What do I do?" she yelled over the chaos.

     "Go through the light," the computer advised. Isabelle looked back at the horsemen. They have apparently figured out that she was escaping and galloped after her at full speed.

     "Stop her," Death ordered and the other three horsemen charged.

     Isabelle faced the light and took a deep breath. In her right hand she held the silver locket, "Good-bye, brother," she whispered and jumped into the light, not knowing where it would lead.

**Chapter 2**

Present,

     The battle field was all set. Inferno, Tarantulas, Quickstrik, Saber, Thrust with a dozen drones were on one side, lead by Megatron. Rattrap, Cheetor, Silverbolt, Nightscream, Dinobot, and Blackarachnia were on the other, lead by Optimus. Anything in the middle of the two teams was reduced to dust by their fire. Then, into the chaos of battle came something else.

     "What's in the name of the Pit…" Megatron bellowed. A wield wind appeared out of nowhere and knocked both teams down on their feet.  Space it self seemed to twist, then rip open. A scream came from the rift in space and a young girl fell to the ground. When the chaos calmed, they stared at the girl.

     She was about 13, medium height, with long, straight raven-black hair. She looked up first at the Predacons, then at the Maximals with her blue eyes.

     "Where'd she come from?" Rattrap whispered.

     "No clue," Cheetor replied, "but she dose look sort of familiar."

     Megatron was not as quiet. "Who are you?" he demanded, pointing his gun at the girl.

     "What year is this?" she asked.

     "What kind a' question is that?" Quickstrike smirked.

     "A ligament one," Tarantulas was obviously figuring it out, "that was a time storm. I remember a similar event when we arrived on Earth for the first time to fight the Beast Wars. She," he pointed at the girl, "is a time traveler."

     "My name is Isabelle," she got up, "Isabelle Ca…" she looked at the Maximals, "no, just Isabelle."

     "Well, Isabelle," Megatron powered up his weapon, "so sorry you had to come all this way to the year 2000 for nothing."

     "One more step," Optimus said firmly, "and you can prepare to be blown into high stratosphere. We can beet you and you know it. Leave the girl alone."

     "This isn't over," Megatron yelled.

     "It never is," Nightscream rolled his eyes.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Thank you," Isabelle said, when the Predacons left, "I left my time to save my life, I wasn't about to lose it in the past."

     "So…" Chris said, "you're from the future. Cool."

     "It would be if not for Apocalypse," she sighed, "you see, I'm from 22 years in the future. It may not seem like a long time, but you wouldn't believe the distraction in my world." Then she told them everything about her future. As they listened, one by one their faces turned grim.

     "You know about us," Eric said when she finished, "how?"

     "Well…"Isabelle stumbled, "most people know. I mean, they know of Maximals but they don't know who you are as humans. You were our last defense against Apocalypse before…before your deaths."

     "Kind of a grim thing to look forward to," Alex muttered.

     "I keep thinking she looks familiar," Chris said, then his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers, "that's it!"

     "What?" Martin asked.

     "I know who she looks like," Chris replied, "she looks like Ariana."

**Chapter 3**

     "What?!" Ariana laughed and looked at Isabelle, "no she doesn't." Isabelle said nothing.

     "Yeah," Chris insisted, "alright so you have darker skin and brown eyes, but other then that you guys look so much alike.

     "You're imagining things," Ariana shook her head.

     "Seemed like it," Chris muttered.

     "Why are you here?" Eric turned to Isabelle.

     "Originally, this was my best chance of survival," she replied, "but now, I believe I can prevent what happened in my world. A long time ago, during the Beast Wars, Megatron proved that the future can be changed."

     "You know, kid," Alex shook his head, "It's not a good idea to mess with the time line."

     "Even if the future turns out like it did?" Isabelle snapped. Suddenly police sirens were heard.

     "We'd better get out of here," Chris suggested, "wait a sec, where is she going to stay?" he pointed at Isabelle.

     "She can come with us," Ariana said, "she needs to change into more normal cloth and it's not like you guys have anything. So I'll see you guys later."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "So how do I look?" Isabelle spun around. When she, Jamie, and Ariana got to her house, Ariana gave her new cloth to change into. She now wore jeans and a black top which contrasted drastically with her pail skin.

     "Better then you did before," Ariana replied, then when Isabelle frowned she added, "sorry, but I'm kind of a rude person. Nothing personal."

     "You're not rude," Isabelle shook her head and immediately wished she had kept her moth shut. 

     "How would you know?" Ariana asked, suspiciously.

     "Well…" Isabelle's mind raced to make up a good alibi, "I know you in the future. I mean, I meet you once before and you were really nice."

     "That means I must have changed a whole lot," Ariana laughed, then looked at her, "nice locket."

     At that moment, Isabelle grabbed it as if it was priceless. "Sorry. It's just that this locket is all I have left of my family. My parents were killed when I was 11 and my twin brother, Ian was kidnapped 5 years before that."

     "I understand," Ariana nodded, "it's never easy to let go. Two of my friends died recently. Anyway, off the dreary subject, what are you planing to do first?"

     "Well, I can't go after the future horseman since they're not even born yet," Isabelle said, "but what we can do is destroy the reminisce of the virus. Apocalypse was the one who released it into your time, preparing the world for his arrival."

     "But I thought the virus was already gone," Ariana said.

     "No, the Predacon Saber has a sample of it. When Apocalypse comes, he will get it and if he dose, the future is doomed."

     "The Maximals will do everything in our power to stop this from happening," Ariana promised, "we don't want this to turn into a sequel to the _Matrix now do we?"_

     Isabelle laughed, "No and maybe if we can prevent it…maybe I could see my parents and brother again," she said sadly.

**Chapter 4**

     Year 2022,

     "Where is she?" Apocalypse roared.

     "The girl went through the vortex," Death replied, in his icy cold voice.

     "Go after her. If indeed she traveled to the past, we are in danger," Apocalypse said, "Death, you will go alone. The others will follow shortly."

     "It shall be done," Death bowed in a roman fashion.

     Apocalypse waved his hand and the portal opened. Death opened his wings and flew in. The silver locket swung around his neck and contrasted greatly with his dark blue, almost black out fit.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     Isabelle sat on the roof of Ariana's house, thinking about her past and fiddling with the silver locket. She looked up at the sky. It was so beautiful in this time. It reminded her of her past.

     **_Flashback, __2017,_**

_     "Oh great," 7 year old Isabelle stood on the roof of her house, "you're the one who dared me to do it, Helen."_

_     "I changed my mined," her friend squealed, "it's just too dangerous."_

_     "Don't worry," Isabelle smiled, "I've seen dad do it a million times. Just watch. Maximize!"_

_     Instantly her entire body was covered by a thin silver metal. Two angel-like wings sprained from her shoulder blades.  Each wing was sliced by four black lines, eight total._

_     "Yes, it worked," she said, happily and jumped. Instantly the wind picked her up and carried her through the sky, "yeah," she laughed._

_     Suddenly one of her wings snapped and she started falling fast towards the ground, "Ah!" she screamed._

_     "Isabella!" came a powerful male voice from bellow, "Maximize!" The air was sliced by another, more powerful and experienced pair of wings. Isabelle was caught in strong, loving arms._

_     "Are you all right, child?" the voice asked gently._

_     "Daddy?" she looked up._

_     "Now Isabella listen to me: never reveal your true nature to anyone. Not until the right time comes. Promise me, Isabella."_

_     "Oh daddy," she cried, "I promise."_

**_End of Flashback,_**

     "I must never tell them," Isabelle shook her head, "I must never tell them who I really am."

     "What are you thinking about?" came a voice behind her. She turned and saw Ariana looking down at her.

     "Oh hi. I was just remembering some things from my childhood," Isabelle replied, "you know, my parents…they fought in the war against Apocalypse. They…they were the last to die."

     Ariana placed her hand on the younger girl's shoulder, "By the time you return to your time, they may be alive."

     "I hope so," Isabelle stared back at the sky, "I really hope so."

**Chapter 5**

     "Isn't it a beautiful night?" Ariana smiled up at Justin. They were standing in the park, "how's our visitor?"

     "She's all right," Ariana sighed, "but I get the felling she's not telling us something."

     "Like what?" Justin frowned, "she seems like a nice girl. You know, maybe Chris was right, she is something like you."

     Ariana turned to face him, "I feel threatened," she joked.

     "No," Justin brought his face down to hers, "no one is like you."

     "Well, see now that's why I love you," their lips touched. And pulled apart as a shadow passed over head.

     "What was that?" Ariana asked alarmed.

     "We're about to find out," Justin placed his hands on her shoulders, "stay here, where you'll be safe."

     "What are you going to do?"

     "I shall go see if we have another guest…an uninvited guest, Silverbolt Maximize!" he transformed and went after the shadow.

     Ariana stared up at the sky then when she saw something sparkling fall to the ground. She frowned, leaded down, and picked it up. It was a silver locket, just like the one Isabelle had. In fact, if she didn't know better, she would have sworn it was the same locket. She found the little notch that opened the locket.

     It had two pictures, one of a young girl and the other of a boy, about the same age. Both children had pail skin, but the girl had long black hair and the boy had blond bangs. For a minute, she could have sworn the children looked familiar. Then after that feeling passed, she closed the locket and placed it in her pocket.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Silverbolt to Optimus," he spoke over his com-link.

     "Optimus here, what is it?"

     "Sir, I am currently in pursuit of an unidentified target. Possibly hostile."

     "Possibly?"

     "It's not Predacon."

     "I'm open to suggestions," Optimus said, "if it's not Predacon, what is it?"

     "I believe it may be from the future."

     "In that case, it's bound to be bad news. Do not engage with out backup."

     "Understood, Silverbolt out," but when he looked up, Silverbolt came face to face with his target.

     It was definitely a transformer. He had broad, blade-like wings. His body was a mainly a dark blue, almost black color, with magenta lines.

     "Who are you?" Silverbolt demanded.

     "I am called the Angel of Death," the transformer replied, "and you are between me and my victim. Stand aside."

     "You are after Isabelle," Silverbolt guessed, "I cannot let you harm her."

     "I did not ask for your permission," Death said, "though your legends speak well of you in my world, I will not hesitate to destroy you if you get in my way. My master, Apocalypse, orders the girl's distraction."

     "You'll have to go through me."

     "I did not want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice," Death spread his wings and fired multiple blades at him. Silverbolt shielded himself with his own wings, then with a loud howl, launched a pair of his missiles at Death. One of them whizzed past him, but the other slammed into Death and exploded. But when the smoke cleared, Silverbolt saw that the missile did nothing. Death still hovered in the air.

     "So be it," he said, "you've just made a most dangerous enemy," with that he spread his wings and flew off.

**Chapter 6**

     "So that was Death, huh?" Alex said. Everyone were sitting in Rafe's living room. Justin had just told them what had happened. Isabelle sat in the corner of the room, with her head in her lap. Ariana saw, and walked over to her.

     "You okay?" she asked. Isabelle looked up. Ariana saw that she was ready to cry for some reason, "hey, it's okay. We'll find this guy before he dose anything."

     "You don't understand," Isabelle shook her head, "it's not that."

     **_Okay, now I know she's hiding something, Ariana thought, but out loud, she said nothing._**

     "Another thing is that he seemed as if he knew me personally," Justin said, " he acted as if he met me somewhere, a long time ago."

     "Maybe he did know you," Ariana suggested, "I mean, he's from the future. Who knows what happens then," she glanced back at Isabelle.

     "Whatever," Chris got up, "look until he can find Isabelle, I don't think he'll hurt anyone else since it might change the future."

     "He's right," Rafe agreed, "as much as I don't want to place my son or any of you into unnecessary danger, trying to do anything now is a waste of time."

     "I guess the best thing to do is sleep on it," Alex sighed, "ah, how do we get into these messes?"

     "No one asked you to come, coward," Martin said.

     "Well at least I'm not asking to die, chopperface," Alex snapped back.

     "Separate!" Eric ordered,  "we have enough problems without fighting amongst ourselves. In the meantime, I have another idea. I think it might be a good idea for Isabelle to spend the night somewhere else. Any ideas?"

     "We'll she cold stay here," Rafe offered, "just try not to be too much trouble."

     "I wont be," Isabelle promised.

     "Wait is this really necessary?" Ariana asked, "Death doesn't know where she is."

     "We don't know that," Eric pointed out, "if her location is changed now, we can be certain Death wont find her."

     "All right," Ariana agreed, reluctantly.

     "Well, there's a plus side to all of this," Chris said, "at least Death can't walk around during the day time. It's not like he can become human or anything."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     Death lowered himself to the ground. His wings folded back and then disappeared completely. The dark blue and magenta coloring of his uniform changed into blue jeans, a white tee-shirt, and a black leather jacket over that. His long, blond bangs, shifted by the wind, uncomfortably got into his ice-blue eyes. He moved them away with one motion of his powerful hands and directed his attention at the sky. The clear sky. A huge, full moon hung close to the ground lighting it up with a soft glow.

     "It's so different in this world," he said, "so clear. So…so much like the time before."

**Chapter 7**

     "Uh…listen," Justin got up, "I think I forgot something back at the park. I'd better go and pick it up."

     "Wait," Rafe said, "it's dangerous. Death could still be out there."

     "Don't worry, dad," Justin reassured him, "he didn't see me in my human form. I'll be fine."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Hey, kid, nice jacket," Death turned around as he saw three thugs gather around him, "I'd like it…very much."

     "I'd prefer if you step aside and let me go on my way," Death said calmly.

     "You would, huh?" the first thug smirked, "well forget it, I'm going to…"

     Whatever he was offering, he didn't have time to finish. Death grabbed his wrist and threw the thug into the air. There was a snap of breaking bones as he let go. The thug screamed in pain as he hit the ground and his two companions ran forward, tackled Death and knocked him to the ground. He struggled to get up, but the other two thugs held him down to the ground.

     "You've just made a big mistake by messing with us, kid," the first thug got up and wiped the blood from his lips, "and now you're going to…"

     "Let him go," came a voice from the shadow.

     "Huh?"

     "Who said that?" The three thugs and Death looked up and saw a tall, blond-haired, blue eyed, broad shouldered young man step out of the shadow.

     "Who on Earth is he?"

     "Release him," the young man ordered.

     "Now you're asking to die, too," the three thugs let go of Death and charged at the new comer. The lead attacker drew a small pocket knife and lunged at the teenager. The young man blocked it with his forearm and deflected the strike upwards. He then kicked his attacker in the stomach, and wrenched the knife from his hand as the thug fell gasping to the ground. When the second boy approached him with another knife, he used his blade to parry the blow and then slice across the boy's upper arm. Screaming, the boy fell down clutching the wound.

     "Let's get outta here," the thugs scrambled on their feet and ran away as fast as the could.

     "Thank you," Death got back up.

     "You're welcome," the unknown teen said.

     Death looked directly at him and narrowed his eyes. The teen looked almost identical to himself! His hair was a bit shorter and he was about three of four years older, but other then that Death could have been looking in the mirror.

     "My name is Justin Carter," Justin held out his hand.

     Death drew back for a moment, **_that name…he's Silverbolt! But he is not attacking, perhaps because he dose not recognize me in this human form._**

     "Well…" Justin looked at him, "do you have a name?"

     "Oh, my name…" Death hesitated, "my name is Ian."

**Chapter 8**

     "Well," Justin said, "I'm on my way home, but there's a Starbucks on the way if you want something warm to drink. It looks like you could use something."

     "I'm sorry," he said, "but I don't have any local money."

     "It's on me," Justin assured him.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "So where are you from?" Justin put down the cup of hot chocolate in front of him. Death took it.

     "Oh, I'm from around here," he replied as he sipped the hot chocolate.

     "That's funny," Justin frowned and sat across the table, "this is a small town and I don't remember seeing anyone like you here."

     "I'm new."

     "Then, you've learned that little kids shouldn't be out in the streets alone," Justin said, "how old are you?"

     "Thirteen."

     "What is a 13 year old doing out on the street alone at night?" Justin asked.

     "I was looking for someone," Death replied.

     "Hum," Justin nodded, "any one I could help you find?"

     "Probably not," Death shook his head.

     "All right," Justin got up, "I've gotta go. Stay out of trouble, Ian." With that, he left.

     "If I were you," Death said quietly, "I would worry about myself, Silverbolt."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     Ariana waited until Jamie went to bed, that way she could be alone in her room, till she took out the silver locket. She guessed it fell from Death, but she wasn't sure if it belonged to him. It was identical to the locket that Isabelle wore, but it wasn't the same thing. Inside the locket was a tiny computer chip, highly sophisticated.

     Ariana took it out. Looking over it, she found a tiny button and pressed it. Instantly, she was no longer standing in her room. It seemed as if she was standing outside, in front of a house. Ariana guessed that this was some sort of a holographic video of the future. In the front yard, there were the two kids from the photos, playing with a soccer ball. The boy kicked the ball into the back yard, and the girl ran after it. Her long, black hair swung in the wind as she ran.

     Suddenly, there was a bright flash in the air. Ariana shut her eyes. When she opened them, the boy was gone. She looked around in confusion. A few seconds later, the girl ran back into the front yard, holding the ball. She looked just as confused as Ariana was.

     "Ian?" the girl looked around, "Ian, where are you? We didn't agree to play hid and seek. Ian?"

     "Ariana couldn't watch anymore. It was too upsetting. The girl was Isabelle, there was no question about that, but who was the boy? Isabelle mentioned that she had a brother named Ian, who was kidnapped when they were seven. That must have been him. And this must have been his locket.

     "If that's true," Ariana placed her hand over her mouth in shock, "then Death is…"

**Chapter 9**

Year 2022,

     "Master," War bowed to Apocalypse, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

     "Has Death disposed of the girl?" Apocalypse asked.

     "I'm afraid not, Master," War said, "but I'm suspect Death may be regaining his past memories. He's reverting, Sire."

     "What!" Apocalypse roared and with one powerful fist, smashed the table in front of him, "this must not happen! Death was my greatest creation. He must not regain his former identity. I will send you, Famine, and Pestilence through the time vortex. Keep a close eye on Death and make sure that he remains in my full control. At any cost!"

     "Yes sir," War bowed again. He, Famine, and Pestilence mounted their metallic horses and headed for the vortex.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Present, Morning of next day,

     Chris looked up at the school track field. School was over which meant that the track was his alone to conquer. Even though it was summer, the morning was chilly, with the dew on the leaves and grass, but Chris was only dressed in his track shorts and sneakers. After running seven laps, his tee shirt was carelessly thrown on the wet grass, revealing his impressive athletic form.

     "Okay, just one more lap and it'll be an even 2 miles," he whispered to himself, "on my mark…get set…go!" he took of like a rocket. The world rushed past him as he left fire behind himself on the track. The dust rose under his feet and created giant clouds before settling back down.

     "Hey, Chris," he was so startled that he tripped over his own feet and fell down on to the dirt. He ground as he got back up and saw Isabelle standing over him.

     He had to admit, she looked nice. Her straight, long black hair hung down past her waist and moved slightly in the wind. She was wearing long, tight jeans and a white tee shirt. Her blue eyes starred down at him.

     "Um…you look good," **_'you look good?' Is that the best thing you can come up with? he gave himself a mental kick._**

     "Thanks," Isabelle laughed, "unfortunately I can't say the same for you."

     Chris looked down at himself, and his face turned delicate pink. The dirt he fell in now clung to his sweaty chest.

     "What are you doing out here?" he dusted himself off, "aren't you worried that someone's after you?" 

     "I can't stay in the house all day. Besides," she flashed a mischievous smile, "I always wanted to see Cheetor, the speed demon in action."

     His eyes lit up, "Really? I'd be happy to show you. If…if you'd like."

     "I would," Isabelle laughed, "very much. But please keep in mind that even though I may look thirteen, by my birth date, I'm about 25 years younger then you are." She winked at him and sat down on the closest bleacher.

     **_Congratulations, Spot, Chris winced_****_, you blew it…again. "Alright," he prepared to run, "buy you only get one look at this."_**

     Isabelle chuckled at him. Suddenly her attention was drawn in another direction. She looked at the side walk and saw a boy her age, walk past the track field. He had short blond hair, but long bangs. She recognized him immediately.

     "Ian!" she was astonished. There was no doubt in her mind that that was her twin brother. But how did he get to this time?

     Chris stopped running at the sound of Isabelle's startled voice. "What is it?" he walked up to her.

     "It's my brother," she still couldn't believe it, "that…that boy is Ian."

**Chapter 10**

     "I've gotta warn her," Ariana said to herself as she garbed her jacket, "it Death is who I think he is, Isabelle will be in great danger and won't even know it."

*  *  *  *  * *  *  *  *  *

     "Are you sure?" Chris said with a perplexed expression, "wasn't your brother killed or something?"

     "Not killed," Isabelle corrected him, "kidnapped. I always hoped that he was alive and that he somehow escaped."

     "Even if he did," Chris argued, "how could he have known to come here?"

     "Because time travel was our final option," Isabelle explained, "and we could only travel back to an extent of 22 years. That's why he's here. Ian!" she called to the boy.

     To Chris' surprise, he responded to the name and walked over to them. "Isabelle?" the boy asked.

     "Yes," she looked like she was about to cry, "Ian, it's really you. You're back. What happened? How did you escape Apocalypse?"

     "I…I don't know," Ian responded.

     "Wait a cycle," Chris cut in, "something's wrong with this picture. What happened for the years you were missing and how come Apocalypse didn't destroy you?"

     "I said I don't know," Ian lied, "somehow I just ended up here."

     "Well, it doesn't matter how," Isabelle shook her head, "as long as you're here. Now, with the Maximal's help, we can finally defeat Apocalypse."

     "We can't," Ian shook his head.

     "What?! Ian, we have to," Isabelle insisted, "for the sake of the future."

     "He can't be defeated," Ian said, "he's eternal."

     "We have to find a way," Isabelle insisted. Then all three turned when they heard the sound of running feet.

     "Hey," Chris said, "I wonder what Ariana's doing here this early in the morning."

     "Isabelle, Chris!" Ariana yelled, "get away from him!"

     "Ariana, what is it?" Chris was alarmed at once, "what's going on?"

     "He's not who he seems to be," Ariana explained hastily, "he's _L'ange de Mort," she said in French, "the Angel of Death."_

     "Ian?" Isabelle turned to him. In response he released his huge, metal wings. His body was covered by the dark blue and magenta metal. He opened the wings and rose into the air.

     "I shall return," were his last words before he took off. The force of the wind created by him knocked Isabelle to the ground.

     "I _knew there was something wrong," Chris swore. Arian was on her knees in front of Isabelle, "is she hurt?" Chris asked._

     "Not physically," Ariana replied, "but she's crying."

     Chris looked down at Isabelle's tear soaked face which had smudges of dirt on it. She was hurt, all right. Beyond words.

**Chapter 11**

 Afternoon,

    "So how did you know?" Isabelle sipped the hot tea Ariana gave her.

     "When Death first entered this time," Ariana explained, "he dropped one of the two identical lockets that you share with your brother. At first, I assumed Death was the kidnapper, but then I started to piece it together and figured out that Death must be your brother."

     "It's not his fault," Isabelle said, "Apocalypse brainwashed him."

     "I know," Ariana nodded, "I also know something else. Ian is a transformer, whether he's Death or whatever else he's suppose to be. To be a transformer, he has to have a spark."

     "Right," Isabelle nodded, although she didn't know where Ariana was going with this.

     Ariana didn't get to continue because there was a knock at the door. 

     "I'll get it!" Jamie ran down the steps and opened the door, "hi Rachel."

     **_No, Ariana made a face_****_, anyone but her. "What do you want?" she got up from the chair._**

     "Gee, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Rachel said sarcastically, "what's going on?"

     "Oh well let's see," Ariana pretended to think, "we just found out the future will be rotten, the Angel of Death is flying around, his buddies are probably on their way here, and oh yeah I haven't seen Justin since yesterday at his dad's house. So maybe he already got killed or something."

     "I think you can live without your knight in shinning armor for a day or two," Rachel said.

     "I wouldn't be talking," Ariana folded her arms under her chest, "you and Martin are almost as bad."

     "No one's that bad," Rachel made a face, "you two are so in love, it's gross."

     "What do you want?" Ariana urged, "If you're here to insult me, then leave."

     "No, I'm here to tell you that Martin saw Death and the other three horsemen are on the roof of the school building."

     "Are they attacking?"

     "Well, not really," Rachel admitted, "they're just standing there. As if they're waiting for something."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     Death stood on the roof, his powerful mind searching the area. He knew exactly who he was looking for. The other three horsemen were standing behind him patiently awaiting his orders.

     **_Isabelle, he called out with his mind_****_, hear me, sister._**

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     Isabelle jerked when she felt Death's mind touch her own.

     "Brother?" she whispered.

     **_Come to me, sister, Death said telepathically, _****_come to me._**

     "Isabelle?" the link was instantly broken at the sound of Ariana's voice, "are you all right?"

     "Uh…" Isabelle held her head, "I have a headache. Would it be okay if I went to lie down for a little while?"

     "Sure," Ariana said sympathetically, "you can use my room."

     "Thank you," Isabelle got up and walked up the stairs, "I'm sorry if this will betray your trust in me," she said as she opened the window, "but this is one battle I must fight alone. MAXIMIZE!" Once again, the silver metal covered her body, as it did when she was seven. Two gold claw like marks appeared in both sides if her waist. Her hands were covered by golden talons and her legs imbedded in knee-high boots. . Two angel-like wings sprained from her shoulder blades.  Each wing was sliced by four black lines, eight total. She looked back at the room and flew out the window.

**Chapter 12**

     Death looked up, "She's coming," he announced.

     "But are you certain that the others will come?" War asked.

     "Yes," Death said, "now that Blackarachnia is close to fully understanding the connection between herself and my sister, she wont chance the girl getting hurt."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Listen," Ariana said, "we'll need to divide into two groups. One will have to get the rest of the virus from Saber and the other will attack the four horsemen."

     "Hum," Rachel wrinkled her nose, "I hate to say this, but you're right. It's a good plan. So call Eric and tell him."

     "Oh," Ariana taped her forehead, "the other phone is in my room. Well, I'll be fast so as not to wake Isabelle." Ariana walked up stairs.

     "Sorry if I woke you up," she said as she opened the door, "but I…Isabelle?" she looked around in alarm, "Isabelle, where are you?"

     "What's going on?" Rachel and Jamie walked into the room, "where is she?"

     Ariana walked to the open window, "Take a wild guess?"

     "But this is the second flood," Rachel objected, "there's no way to climb down from this window and it's not like she can fly."

     "I know she went after Death," Ariana said confidently.

     "Why? And why didn't she ask for help?" Rachel asked, "at 13, she thinks she can beet the Angel of Death single handedly."

     "No, she doesn't want to fight him," Ariana explained, "jut to talk."

     "Talk? That makes even less sense."

     "Forget the reason," Ariana ran down stairs, "this just turned into a rescue mission. You, call Eric and tell him my plan. I'm going ahead to help Isabelle."

     "Me too," Jamie said.

     "No," you're going to be in the group that tries to get back the virus," Ariana told him, "this is way too dangerous."

     "But I…," Jamie protested.

     "No buts," she shook her head, "you're immune to the virus so that mission isn't dangerous." Before Jamie could argue, she ran out the door.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

     "Well, you said she was coming," War said, "where is she?"

     "Right here," said a female voice.

     The four horsemen watched as a silver colored female transformer raised into view. She lowered herself on the roof in front of Death.

     "Leave us," he ordered, "we shall have guests soon. Wait for them inside the building."

     War, Famine, and Pestilence obeyed and left. As they did, the two remaining transformers changed into their human forms.

     "Why, brother?" Isabelle demanded, "how could you do this?"

     "You don't understand," Ian shook his head, "give me a chance to explain."

     "Explain what?" she was on the verge of tears, "why you're here, trying to destroy the past. Explain why you side with Apocalypse? Explain why you attacked our parents?"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "All right," Eric said, "Chris, Jamie, Alex, and I will retrieve the virus while Justin, you, and Martin will aid Ariana in Isabelle's rescue."

     "Right," Justin agreed.

     "Rachel and I will call you if there's any trouble in this area," Rafe promised, "good luck, Maximals."

**Epilogue **

     **_I can't believe I got past the first three horsemen unnoticed, Ariana grinned as she got to the door that lead to the roof. She opened the door just enough that she could hear and see what was going on._**

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "Ian Carter died that day, six years ago when I was kidnapped," he said, "now there is only Death."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     **_Carter? Ariana thought, _****_that's Justin's last name._**

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

     "I know you don't mean that," Isabelle said, "there's still good in you, I know it."

     Ian shook his head, "There is no more good left in me. Blackarachnia and Silverbolt were wrong by opposing Apocalypse."

     "Blackarachnia and Silverbolt?" Isabelle screamed the name, "you're acting like they're complete strangers. Ian, they are our parents!"

To be continued in Part 8. "Children of the Spark"…


End file.
